On Monday President Obama will be answering questions about his State of the Union address, how would you like for that question to be one submitted by young climate activists?
Right now, the most voted question is from someone promoting alternative fuels. Not clean energy. Not just energy. Not renewable energy. But alternative energy, and you know what that means right? If this question is still #1 by tomorrow, President Obama will have an open window to reiterate his support for dirty coal, nuclear, and offshore oil drilling and ignore the true solutions to our energy, national security, and climate crises.
Go to CitizenTube and upvote this question from Energy Action. We are only 120 votes away from the top, so every vote counts. Please spread the word and RT this:
RT @energyaction: Vote up youth leader question to #Obama! Why dirty energy when clean is smarter & creates more jobs? http://bit.ly/bGNR8R
State budget cuts can lead to tuition hikes, cuts in enrollment, shortfalls for state financial aid programs, layoffs, larger class sizes or fewer offered courses, and more. If there was ever a time for a large federal investment in higher education, it’s now.
Exchange is reporting that a new study shows that those that graduate with student debt are significantly less likely to have savings or investments, less likely to own a home, and more likely to have a mortgage if they do:
Analysis showed that among postsecondary graduates aged 20 to 45 in 2007, 42% of those who had borrowed money to finance their schooling had savings and investments, compared with 52% of other postsecondary graduates, all other factors being equal.
The results suggest that, while student debt continues to affect individuals’ finances after graduation, borrowers who complete their postsecondary education received labour market returns to their education similar to those of non-borrowers.
This study adds to previous research research showing student debt having a big impact on important life decisions, like getting married, choosing a career, and having kids.
President Obama reignited his campaign days as he spoke on many issues burdening our country last night. He put Senate Democrats and Republicans in their place, and had some teeth in his remarks toward the party that has made their goal of this Congressional session to block every effort of putting this country back on track. However, he said almost 3,500 words before speaking on one of the most pressing issues we are facing today: health care. In my opinion, he should have addressed it earlier in his speech, especially before making it clear that his new focus is jobs creation, as if health care reform is now old news. He only spent about five minutes talking about health care, and some reform advocates complain that his words were not strong enough and his marching orders not precise enough. But I will give him a bit of a break. I think –when he finally did reach the issue of health care reform– he was clear, concise and to the point. Congress is not stupid (even if some days and for some members, we may beg to differ). Congress knows health care reform needs to pass this year. Our representatives know that if we wait, premiums will continue to rise, the number of uninsured will reach about 54 million by 2019, and our health expenditures will double. They know what they have to do. They just needed a firm direction from Obama; one that made clear that health care reform will not be postponed and will not fail after coming this far. And I believe he made that crystal clear:
After nearly a century of trying, we are closer than ever to bringing more security to the lives of so many Americans…By the time I’m finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans, and neither should the people in this chamber.
The debate over the last several weeks, however, has centered around not only whether to move forward, but how. There are several routes Congress could take to pass some sort of reform legislation. But as our President put it so eloquently last night:
Let’s try common sense.
I believe Congress knows that the smartest way out of the pickle we now find ourselves in with this health care bill is to pass the Senate bill and then pass a “clean up” bill through reconciliation (or in order to guarantee the changes that the House wants, they could pass the “clean up” bill first and then pass the Senate bill) which would improve significant provisions like switching from the Senate’s proposed state-by-state health insurance exchanges to the House’s proposed national health insurance exchange, which would ensure stronger consumer protections when shopping for a health insurance plan. This method has been the most popular among Congressional members thus far, and Speaker Pelosi has hinted that she would have the votes to make it happen.
President Obama even addressed those that are opposing every option of moving forward with health care to come to him with a better alternative:
But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.
The key thing to take away from last night’s speech was not that it seemed as if health care reform is so last year and job creation is now the new focus, but that we need to get health care reform passed now so that we can begin the path to recovery within our health care system (and trust me it will be a long road, but we have to take the first step) and then move on to other equally important issues like unemployment and drowning in the deficit, to name a few. It has been long enough, as Obama stated perfectly:
How long should we wait? How long should America put its future on hold?
Yesterday dozens of people blocked the street in from of the Department of Homeland Security building in Washington, DC to protest inaction on immigration reform. The Detention Watch Network posted this video of the action:
*This post was written by CP Advocacy intern, Yosef Getachew
In a recent article written by the National Journal, it was revealed that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce not only spent the most money on health care lobbying last year but had also doubled what it had spent in 2008. As a result, the lobbying group spent $123.3 million in 2009 compared to $62.3 million in 2008 for all lobbying activities. Furthermore, a majority of this money was spent in the 4th quarter of 2009, which was the height of the health care debate. The massive amount of spending done by the traditionally conservative lobbyist group demonstrates its efforts in derailing health care reform for millions of Americans:
The top-spending groups on health care reform generally spent about as much lobbying last year as they did in 2008 — with one notable exception. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce stood out not only for consistently outspending other groups, but also for nearly doubling its lobbying spending over the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2009 alone, the group’s outflows easily topped the amount spent by any other group all year.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wasn’t the only one who spent millions of dollars to lobby against health care reform. An article written by Think Progress reports that health insurance companies spent a total of $38 million in 2009 to impede the progress of health care reform:
WellPoint: The Indiana-based insurer spent $4.7 million lobbying Congress last year, an increase of 21 percent from its expenditures in 2008.
UnitedHealth Group: The largest of all health insurance companies spent $4.5 million on lobbyists last year, an increase of 7 percent from 2008.
Humana: The insurance mega-company “showed the biggest increase in its lobbying spending among…insurers.” It spent $3.2 million lobbying in 2009, which is an 80 percent increase from 2008.
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP): The health insurance industry’s lobbying group spent $8.9 million on lobbyists in 2009, a 20 percent increase from the previous year.
A protest lead by Health Care for America Now was held today to fight back against the U.S Chamber of Commerce. Campus Progress attended the protest, which took place right on the steps of the lobbyist group’s building. Protestors shared stories and vehemently condemned the actions of lobbyist efforts as they urged Congress to finally pass health care reform.
The push for health care reform is possibly not moving anymore? But I am still trying to keep you in the loop with the debate over whether this bill has a chance of passing or not. So for now, these semi-daily “Health on the Hill” updates will continue. Enjoy!
Today’s Updates – 1/22/10:
To be honest, I sat down to write a lengthy update on the madness and utter chaos this health care debate has turned into since the Massachusetts election on Tuesday, but Politico Pulse has summed it up perfectly, taking the words right out of my mouth:
DEATH WATCH — For the first time in this year-plus debate, Democrats are worried that health reform is in critical condition. House Speaker Pelosi can’t get 218 votes for the Senate bill. Senate moderates don’t want to take up another bill — skinny or reconciliation — and the White House isn’t yet calling the shots. “There’s a real possibility it doesn’t get through,” said a Democratic lobbyist who supports reform. “My guess is, for now, it’s over,” echoed another. There is a sense of anxiety and panic that has set in as Democrats ask, “What now?” Lobbyists familiar with the situation say officials are floundering to find a clear path forward. Reform’s passage, they say, has lost the sense of inevitability it had only a week ago. If Democrats are going to pass reform, Pelosi will need to find 218 votes for the Senate bill, Senate Majority Leader Reid will have to agree to take up budget reconciliation legislation to tweak a House-passed Senate bill — or both sides will have to go back to the drawing board to craft a slimmed-down reform bill. There was some talk among Senate leadership on Thursday of putting together a letter signed by 51 Democratic senators pledging to pass a clean-up bill if the House would pass the Senate bill. But that effort fizzled when support for it didn’t materialize, insiders said. Democratic leaders left the Capitol Thursday without answers and don’t expect any before next week.
Not sure you understand the reconciliation process? Or why are now in this position since Scott Brown took over Ted Kennedy’s seat in the Senate? You’re not alone, it’s a headache. But here’s an article from the Business Insider that attempts to break down the tricky process of reconciliation and sheds some light on how it might help with passing the health care bill:
The special election in Massachusetts has thrown the process into chaos. [The] Senate Democratic caucus [lost] “the Kennedy seat,” [and] the ability of the conference approved health care bill to overcome a filibuster [is] in doubt. Brown has made no bones about his plans to join a filibuster vote to block health care reform, campaigning as “the 41st vote” against it. That could mean the end of the death of health care reform.
In the 1970s the Senate adopted a rule that applies to the budget process that allows for limited debate, which means that there cannot be a filibuster. The process is called “reconciliation.” Here’s how reconciliation works. Each of the Senate and the House passes a concurrent resolution instructing one or more committees to report changes in a law affecting by a certain date. Those committees then support their reports to the budget committee, which combines them into a single omnibus bill. In the Senate, the reconciliation bill then gets only 20 hours of debate before the final vote. So there’s no filibuster risk and the bill can pass with support of just 51 Senators.
Senator Landrieu and Murkowski are working together to pass an resolution that would essentially halt the United States’ current efforts to prevent the climate crisis. The two senators, from Louisiana and Alaska respectively, should know a thing or two about the problem since they are in some of the most vulnerable areas of the nation. Alaska is warming faster than the continental U.S.A. and the effects are already clearly visible. In Alaska, the melting permafrost is threatening the structural integrity while indigenous hunters are struggling to keep up with the changes to the animals’ migration pattern. The Louisiana Senator should also be a little more concerned about the climate crisis since her state was the hardest hit during the devastating 2005 hurricane season. Almost every scientific study on the subject says that if the climate crisis is allowed to continue unrestrained, sea level rise and hurricanes will make disasters like Hurricane Katrina commonplace.
Ensuring the survival of our species on this planet shouldn’t be a hard fight. Anyone with an ounce of common sense and a 5th grade diploma understands that when the world’s scientists are freaking out about something, it might be time to start paying attention (see: Nuclear Weapons, Ozone Layer, Armageddon), it is time to get working on solutions.
Health on the Hill is back!!!! And health care reform is still moving. Over the holiday break, we saw the legendary passage of the Senate health care bill and were confronted with the conflicting feelings of progress ( remember America has been trying to pass health care reform legislation for decades) and defeat (there were a lot of key compromises made on an already watered-down bill in order to get it passed). Nonetheless, Congress is charging forward to get the final bill completed and signed into law and we, as young Americans, should be ready to embrace the change it will create, while also continuing to push for the work that is yet to be done on reforming our health care system and ending the control insurance companies have over our health and our wallets. This reform bill will just be the beginning.
Today’s Updates – 1/15/10:
* The below post was written by CP Advocacy Intern, Christian Pittman
The Senate and House Democrats have eschewed formal conferencing to resolve the discrepancies between their respective health care bills and have taken to meeting with President Obama and aides at the White House. A desire to have a success story for the Dems before the State of the Union address (conveniently moved to not interfere with the season premiere of Lost) has set in motion Republican-free talks to make the needed compromises. We just have to hope that they don’t compromise all the beneficial parts out of the bill. As of now the public option is effectively dead. There’s no way to attract the votes needed in Congress with a government-run plan in either bill. As unfortunate as this is we can only hope that the reforms that do pass set us up as a nation to accept the public option in the future.
In order for the left to accept this, those in the House of Representatives are standing firm on their national exchange position where the whole country will have uniform laws and enforcement of coverage for as many people as possible, and where it will be easier for consumers to compare plans for purchase. While President Obama is leaning toward the national exchange, which the House adopted in its bill (as opposed to independently-run state exchanges adopted in the Senate bill), he seems to favor the Senate’s take on taxes (taxing high-cost insurance plans instead of taxing high-income individuals – both of which will generate revenue to pay for reform). This gridlock has seen lots of input from labor union leaders who have strong stakes in high-cost plans and therefore don’t want more taxes for their mostly middle-class members. So in order to convince the unions and House Democrats that those who gave up higher wages for better health care won’t be hit where it hurts, concessions were added this week in order to come to a compromise on the issue. Now just a few more sticking points, such as the expansion of Medicaid and the national vs. state exchange, are all that stand between the unified bill being completed and sent to the Congressional Budget Office for scoring.(a goal that Congress aims to accomplish by this weekend).
Meanwhile, while the Republicans in Congress have been mostly anti-reform, many of us on the other side were hearing how much the insurance companies (maybe some of the most influential players in this game) agreed with us and supported reform. They’re set to earn more money by gaining 30 million more customers (only a portion of the uninsured in the U.S.) so why wouldn’t they be happy to accept it? Apparently they’d rather gouge prices on their own terms than be regulated as competitive, fair institutions. AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans), a conglomeration of the most familiar names in health care, has been privately funding ads by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce against reform. A sum of $10-20 million was reportedly given to produce television ads attacking Congress’s reform bills. So this just confirms our long-time suspicions that insurance companies are taking advantage of us in any way they can. This reform bill aims to curb some of the abusive tactics that insurance companies have used all these years, but we have to keep up the fight after the bill passes because there will still be a lot more work to be done.
As Campus Progress reported last fall, the youth are one of the largest groups of the uninsured and the Catastrophic Plan laid out in the Senate bill (which we are working hard to have improved before the bill is finalized) is directed towards young people and severely lacking in comprehensive coverage options. As someone who has been lucky to not have any emergency treatments in my life (knock on wood) I can’t imagine having to go to the ER and fork over the bill in cash. Under the Catastrophic Plan for young individuals, that is precisely what I would have to do, unless of course I’d met my deductible of almost $6,000. I hardly make thousands of dollars in income. Not only that, but for those of us who have our regular check-ups or need prescription drug coverage, those services wouldn’t be covered under the Catastrophic plans. They are targeted at us with cheap prices and a conniving perception that we will now be insured, but the Catastrophic Plan is insurance in name only and we are fighting to improve this plan in order to give young Americans access to affordable, basic coverage (You can join the fight by taking action here!)
There is a lot yet to be resolved with this health care bill and not a lot of time to do it. So it will be up to us and our representatives to remember the real goals of health care reform and choose battles wisely –which means keeping the interests of the people in mind as opposed to the interests of the industry. However, this debate has gone on for a long time and as we watched the bill become more and more watered-down it has been clear that the industry tends to win out. As the next generation in power, and one that is dedicated to progress, we have to work to change that trend. 2010 offers up a great opportunity to start that work, by getting out to vote in the mid-term elections. The example of the power of one Congressional vote was clearly shown in the Lieberman debacle, and is about to rear its ugly head again as Massachusetts works to fill the late Senator Kennedy’s seat. Kennedy was a sure vote for health care reform and now the race to fill his seat seems it may result in Scott Brown, the running Republican, taking the seat, which means a sure vote against health care reform. The bill will need 60 votes to pass, so losing that vote could be the death of the bill. Just an example of how crucial our input is when it comes to electing those who represent our interests.
It is hard to feel optimistic about solving the climate crisis these days. The media’s take on the Copenhagen international climate treaty negotiations is that they were an absolute failure. Their reporting on the federal climate bill is similarly macabre. Acc stuck somewhere between incompetence, cowardice, and straight-out corruption.
On the other hand, think tanks of ideologies continue releasing highly ideological analyses that are hard to believe. Nonetheless, somewhere between the mainstream media’s alarmism and the think tanks’ platitudes there is a grain of truth about the extremely challenging times ahead of us.
Funding our Future is a campaign to pass a progressive federal budget for 2010 and ensure that our nation.s key economic choices invest in our education, spark reform of our health care system, and address climate change through cap and trade and clean energy investments. Click here for more info.
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for January, 2010.
Exchange is 
President Obama reignited his campaign days as 
The push for health care reform is possibly not moving anymore? But I am still trying to keep you in the loop with the debate over whether this bill has a chance of passing or not. So for now, these semi-daily “Health on the Hill” updates will continue. Enjoy!
Senator Landrieu and Murkowski are working together to 
Health on the Hill is back!!!! And health care reform is still moving. Over the holiday break, we saw the legendary passage of the Senate health care bill and were confronted with the conflicting feelings of progress ( remember America has been trying to pass health care reform legislation for decades) and defeat (there were a lot of key compromises made on an already watered-down bill in order to get it passed). Nonetheless, Congress is charging forward to get the final bill completed and signed into law and we, as young Americans, should be ready to embrace the change it will create, while also continuing to push for the work that is yet to be done on reforming our health care system and ending the control insurance companies have over our health and our wallets. This reform bill will just be the beginning.